School community responds to slaying

By Christopher DaCosta

The Oct. 3 slaying of a transgender teenager from Newark is chillingly reminiscent of the hate-crime related death of Matthew Shepard, causing students and professors to evaluate transgender issues on campus.

The slaying, which occurred only 25 miles away from campus has raised concerns among the university's queer community.

"I would be shocked, horrified and dismayed if something like [the Newark incident] happened on this campus," said Associate English Professor Linda Garber. "Do I think it's impossible? No."

Eddie Araujo, a 17-year-old transgender teen identified as "Gwen," was beaten and strangled to death at a party.

According to an Oct. 26 San Jose Mercury News article, three men have been charged with the youth's death. Araujo was killed after someone at the party alerted others that she was actually male, leading to her murder.

The Mercury article also stated that Araujo's tragic death sent shockwaves through the Bay area, inciting hundreds of mourners, to attend her funeral which Rev. Fred Phelps threatened to picket.

Matthew Shepard, a gay university student who was murdered in 1998, is remembered in the university's upcoming winter main stage production, "The Laramie Project." Shepards' funeral was picketed by Phelps, a fundamentalist from Kansas.

The production, to be directed by Professor Barbara Fraser, gives voices to the people of Laramie, Wyo. The content of the play provides a similar parallel to the recent Newark teen's murder. Fraser believes that discussions will facilitate awareness on campus.

"We as a college community have to take some responsibility for what kind of things are going on in our community, our world" Fraser said. "The more we talk about these things and the more people come to grips with reality."

According to junior women and gender studies major Claire Riecke there needs to be more education regarding transgender issues, especially in light of recent events.

"I think this campus is extremely trans-ignorant," Riecke said. "In discussions I've had about trans-issues, I must first begin with a basic definition of transgender, because it's simply an identity most haven't ever been exposed to."

Garber, who has a doctorate in modern thought and literature and teaches classes specializing in homosexuality, defined transgender as a broad term that can sometimes challenge traditional gender designations.

"In the contemporary sense, we say 'transgender' to talk about a whole range of behaviors, politics and attitudes that question traditional gender roles," Garber said.

"Transgender is more of an umbrella term that covers cross-gender behavior, cross-gender dressing on through to the spectrum of transsexuality, people who go through hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery sometimes."

Due to the breadth of meanings of transgender, people who aren't transgender are often identified as such, said Riecke.

"One might consider me transgendered because I don't conform to what femininity is said to be in this culture, but I don't identify as transgendered," she said.

The word "queer" has been reclaimed both academically and socially from its formally abusive connotation. It is now used as a non-restrictive and non-categorizing label for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community.

One student on campus, who requested to be identified as "Stacey Everheart," says that she identifies as both queer and transgender.

Everheart, born male, was greeted with the prospect of being able to freely display her gender identity upon arriving at Santa Clara.

"I hit college rather bright-eyed, happy and open, so there wasn't much of a coming out process; it was just me doing what I wanted to do," Everheart said. "Eventually, I bought a dress and a skirt and wore them around campus."

Everheart says that her professors and circle of friends were extremely supportive. Negative comments often did not occur in her presence, but Everheart does remember receiving a few whispers and stares.

"I would wear the dress on campus, but I didn't try to pass as female so people assumed that I was doing a frat prank or something," Everheart said. "I think my openness has protected me from a lot on campus."

Everheart says that safety on campus is often an issue of concern, especially in the wake of the Newark murder. Everheart does recall an instance when she heard about hate-directed violence on campus.

"There was a gay Chicano graduate who came to do a play, a year or two ago, a one-man act, in which he related the story of how he was beaten up by several men in front of the cross by the Mission Church, because he was gay," Everheart said.

"That was held in Fess Parker. I had to walk by that cross, at night after the play, and I felt put off. So I can't say that I feel completely safe on campus."

Everheart says that there are many vocal allies here at Santa Clara, but the LGBTQ community remains relatively silent, giving testament to the fact that the campus may not be perceived as safe.

Hate-targeted violence towards members of the homosexual and transgender communities is attributed to crossing traditional gender roles.

"Often it's actually gender transgressive behavior that gets punished in gay bashing and verbal abuse," Garber said.

When observing that the definition of "transgender" includes the questioning of traditional gender roles, one can argue that hate-crimes such as the Newark tragedy and the Matthew Shepard case were targeted because of transgender behavior, according to Garber. "Seemingly obvious gay people are people who transgress gender boundaries," she said.

Riecke says that targeted violence is about gender identity rather than sexual identity.

"When a man is called 'flaming,' or a woman is called a 'dyke' it's not about who you sleep with, it's about transgressing gender boundaries," she said.

The reasoning behind such violence raises concern for transgender issues. Gay and Straight People for the Education for Diversity (GASPED) has responded by planning to observe National Trans Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, to memorialize those killed as a result of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice.

Newark, approximately 25 miles away from campus, has raised new concern regarding Santa Clara's own susceptibility to hate crimes.

"My hope is that when something horrible like this happens so close to our community, even if it is outside our university bubble, that it causes people to wake up and rethink attitudes and open their hearts and their minds to accepting differences on a whole other level," said Garber.